Well, this certainly wasn’t expected today, the transfer rumour mill has Aston Villa and Birmingham City doing a player swap + cash deal and it seems the expectation is confirmation will come this weekend.
With it being no secret that Garry Monk would love Gary Gardner back at the club, it was reported earlier this afternoon that head coach Dean Smith wanted to reunite with former Brentford man Jota.
Suso also knows him from his time at Eibar, but you could argue his best season came under Smith.
Reports that #avfc are in for #bcfc wideman Jota are correct. Dean Smith likes him, had him at Brentford. Suso knows him from his time at Eibar. What stage they're at, I don't know… Definitely one to keep an eye on.
— Gregg Evans (@greggevans40) May 31, 2019
The 27-year-old midfielder was well liked by Smith during his time at Brentford and in 40 appearances this season he chipped in with three goals and eleven assists playing on the right side of midfield but he can also play on the left or through the middle.
The Spaniard made the move to St Andrews for a reported £6million in 2017, and the speculation suggests we will pay £4million plus Gardner and it makes it a great bit of business for me.
Gardner’s contract situation means we’d have been lucky to probably get a million for him, so boosting his worth to £2million is a bonus. Getting Jota undervalued at £4million is also great business as with 12 months of Premier League football under his belt, his worth will easily double even if he doesn’t hit the ground running.
It’s win, win for me.
Credit to Vital Villa Forum member antvillan for that one!
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